'Hopeful' Afridi eyeing 2015 World Cup despite 'woeful' form

Johannesburg, Apr 12 (ANI): Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has said that he is targeting the 2015 World Cup after returning to the Pakistan side, although he pledged to quit the team if he becomes a burden on them with continually poor performances.

The veteran player, who was left out of the squad for the one-day series against India in December 2012, had staged a comeback for the tour of South Africa, although his woeful run of form has continued, Sport24 reports.

Despite the slide in performance, Afridi said that he was still hopeful he could make the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, adding that he has a good fitness level and wants to continue playing at the top order.

Afridi, who had scored 7,201 runs and taken 348 wickets in 354 ODIs, however, conceded that his presence in the World Cup will depend on his fitness and performance.

Stating that he will quit for younger players to come through if he does not perform, Afridi said that he had retired from Test cricket in 2010 after he felt that he was not performing as well as he should in the five-day format.

Afridi further said that he will not force the selectors to put him in the squad if he is not performing well, adding that he was doing his best to improve his bowling.

According to Afridi, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) must respect the players, adding that the selectors must inform the players if they want to drop them or if the player has committed a mistake.

Afridi was included in Pakistan's initial 30-man squad for the Champions Trophy to be held in England in June, but must perform in the ongoing national one-day cup to make the final 15 to be announced next month, the report added. (ANI)

--

Get stories like this on the Yahoo app and discover more every day.Download it now.